If you’ve been here before you may notice a change. Yes, my look is different yet again, but I think I’ll keep this look for the time being. This is all part of my latest project. I have been on an organization mission.

It all began in my private office. It was once my jewelry studio and it is now slowly transforming into my library. It is amazing how many books one person can accumulate. I literally can have people come into my ‘new library’ when it’s finished of course, and check out books. I have books on Faith, Marketing, Children, Parenting, Health, Nutrition, Chiropractic, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Decorating, Jewelry Making, and of course Homeschooling.

Which leads me to my latest project. I feel that God has called upon me once again to focus on homeschooling. I continue to school my children and one will actually be graduating this year. Wow, time sure does go by quickly!! But, since I have been homeschooling for over 10 years and have tried anything and everything available to homeschoolers, I feel that the Lord is leading me to take my experience to another level. Hence, the birth of my latest informational site, Dr. Mommy Home School Tips.

I am having a blast writing about my experiences homeschooling and sharing tips, ideas and methods with others. My tips will help those who already homeschool, are considering homeschooling or would like to supplement to their child’s education. A lot of what I write about is faith based, but I will also be sharing resources of the secular venue. I am in the process of putting informational packets together that can be purchased and used as check points and check lists for your homeschooling venture. I have many more projects, that I can’t share at this time, but will soon.

I love to write and feel that this is the direction I must follow. I continue to share my health/wellness and nutrition experience on my Health Blog. Which has just recently been recognized by some health professionals in the blog world and have included my blog amongst theirs on a new project called Wellsphere. I feel quite honored to have been chosen to be a part of a wonderful group of health professionals.

My organization phrenzy has carried out into my home as well. I have been organizing our ‘classroom’ area and preparing for a wonderful new school year. I have my children organizing their rooms and removing items that are no longer used and clothes that no longer fits. It’s amazing how fast kids grow out of their clothes. With 5 children, I can actually open a consignment shop, but won’t because I think I will lose my mind!! So, for now they will be donated or perhaps Ebay…hmmm, no, I think donating will be easier and less work for me.

So, I guess, my Spring Cleaning occurred a bit late in the year, but it feels good. It feels good to be organized and feel organized in my mind. The economy doesn’t make it easy to organize my finances, so I will continue that battle on a daily basis, but pray that God will guide me in the correct direction when dealing with that subject as well.

Well, this is all for now, I must continue cleaning up, thanks for visiting.

The Chronicles continue…..

Back to school - when I read those words I recall the Staples commercial with the daddy pushing the cart and the kids following behind with their frowns and heads hanging low. The jingle is ‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year’… Seeing that makes me chuckle and wonder why those children are not happy to return to school.

My kids laugh when they see the commercial too and when they hear the song, they think it’s Christmas not Back to School time. They love going to all the sales and stocking up on school supplies. It is like Christmas to them! I take advantage of all the sales and purchase notebooks, pencils, pens, crayons, markers and all the other supplies we will use through out the year. I still have supplies I had purchased last year, but I still enjoy the bargains.

We don’t plan on going back to schooling until the end of the month and my kiddos are ready to start. For the first time in the 10 years of home schooling we actually took the entire summer off from schooling and they are ready to go back to schooling. My kiddos are bored our of their minds and don’t understand why their friends are not as excited as they are. Well, perhaps it’s because we don’t wake up at the crack of dawn, choke down a pop-tart and rush to the bus stop, sit in school all day and come home with tons of homework. Our school schedule is quite different. We actually school most of the day, because we are learning all the time. We take every opportunity and make it a learning experience.

This year we are incorporating lap booking, Unit Studies and more hands-on activities. My older children will be taking Physics, Earth Science, Advanced Literature and Logic. We will all be doing Bible studies together and of course home economics and Spanish. My kiddos are excited to begin and so am I. For now, I will enjoy the final weeks of my ‘vacation’ before schooling begins, and continue planning for another exciting year.

The Chronicles continue…

Wow, it feels like it has been raining in our state for 40 days!!  Ok, I’m exaggerating a bit.  We are certainly used to afternoon showers, but it has been raining morning, noon and night.  It is enough to drive a person like me insane.

I love the sunny weather, it gets me motivated to go out and enjoy the day.  When I see the sun shining I am grateful for a beautiful day and feel excited about the adventures it will bring.   The rain is fun up to a point.  My kiddos are now going a bit bonkers.  We have played every board game we own, the kids have colored and drawn to their hearts desire.  We have baked together and developed our menus for the following week.  They have actually cleaned their rooms!!  They have played on the computer and watched many, many movies.  What else is there to do?

We love playing outside in the rain, but the lightning has prevented that from happening.  I know that the rain is needed for the plants and the trees and our rivers, but I feel like I am going to float away.  Honestly, how much more rain can we take.

I’m sorry if I sound like I am complaining, I rarely do that, but I have a bit of cabin fever.  We are all praying for some relief so we can go to the zoo or perhaps the beach.

Perhaps I will feel more motivated tomorrow.  Once I remove my soggy clothes and soak in a warm bath I will feel better.

The Chronicles continue…

Today was a time of reflection for me.  I had to sit and determine what was best for me as a home school mom and business woman.  I prayed long and hard and determined that it was best for me to remove myself from many of the online distractions.  So, as difficult as it was to determine what to let go, I accomplished it today.

I stepped away from many online groups and will be focusing more on the ones that are important to me as a business woman and as a home school mom.  I already feel the weight lifted off of my shoulders and it is a great feeling.  I feel like a new person and that is an awesome feeling.

Another thing I started doing today was started cleaning my jewelry studio that will soon be my new library.  This was rather sad, because jewelry designing and making took a large part of my life for many years and now it is going back to just a hobby.  I have to decide what pieces I will keep and what I will sell.  That I believe will be the hardest part, but I will feel better that someone else will be enjoying them as much as I did.

I also started to order items for schooling this year.  My older two children will be taking courses online but I will also be teaching them.  I am in the process of determining what to include in my curriculum.  My oldest daughter will be taking Earth Science and Advance Literature and Composition online.  My oldest son will be taking Algebra II and World History online.  I will teach both of them Bible Studies, Spanish II and will be teaching my son Apologia Physics.  My younger girls will be working on a Unit Studies - the one they chose is based on Little House on the Prairie.  We will also work with some Kumon workbooks and have a long list of books to read.  We will also be doing Bible Studies together and Spanish.

This is going to be an exciting school year.  I am also planning some field trips that the younger two will also enjoy.  Wow, have I mentioned how much I love to home school.  Of course, just like anything else we have our good and bad days, but for the most part it is wonderful.

I am very happy with everything I accomplished today.  Like I’ve always said, there is never dull moment in our household.

The Chronicles continue…..

As I was sorting through the enormous amount of books we have in our ‘classroom’, I found a book I had forgotten I had.  Not sure how I acquired it but it is very interesting.  The book is called Curious Customsby Tad Tuleja.

This book contains stories behind 296 popular American rituals.  For example, have you ever wondered why we blow out candles on birthday cakes or throw rice at weddings?  This book will explain all the rituals we do without really knowing the meaning behind them.

Have you ever wondered why we cross our fingers to wish someone luck, to avoid bad luck or when we are saying something untrue and don’t want to held accountable for it?  We always say, ‘keep your fingers crossed’ or ‘that didn’t count, my fingers were crossed’.  Well it all started with Desmond Morris and his colleagues and it was called the ‘cryptic version’ of the cross.  This was a way for Christians to display their beliefs without attracting the attention of pagan eyes.  It was only after its origins were obscured by longstanding repetition did the crossing of the fingers, turn into a social gesture performed by Christians and non-Christians.

How about the term, ‘going dutch’?  This term to us means sharing in the expenses of a social engagement.  In the late 19th century, there were Dutch lunches and Dutch suppers that were more like our potlucks of today.  Everyone contributed to these meals bringing a covered dish of their liking to share.  But linking of the Dutch with things that shouldn’t be done and particularly cheapness and shams dates back to the 17th century.  At that time the Dutch and the English were mercantile and military rivals.  At that time a ‘Dutch bargain’ was an uneven or one-sided deal and ‘Dutch widow’ was the slang word for harlot.  So in essence to split expenses with a femal was to behave, according to the cavaliers of the mother country, like those suspicious folks from across the Channel.

This is a very interesting book and one we will use in our home schooling curriculum this year.  It contains facts that one would not normally think about when it comes to our customs.  Another great find amongst the enormous amount of books I have acquired through out the years.  If you are able to obtain a copy of this book, please do, you won’t be disappointed.

The Chronicles continue…..

Amazing how time flies!!  Can you believe that Christmas is right around the corner?  Crazy, I know!!

Well, I had a rather productive week, this week and it’s all due to my organization skills that I have put into play.  It’s nothing special, really, just a handy notepad and pen.  I have found that if I write all my projects down, I will actually get them accomplished. Imagine that?

I have read about many ways to organize and have purchased many planners because of it, but I still go back to my faithful pen and paper.  I have 3 blogs plus 2 others that I write for as well as special blog guest on some others, so it can get scary when trying to determine what to write about.

Thankfully, I am able to write my blog posts and post date them so I can have time to devote to my many other projects.  Yes, I am a bit obsessive and if you haven’t noticed, read some of my other posts. *giggle*

I am one that loves to keep busy and feel that if I am sitting I must be doing something, whether it is writing, reading to my children or folding laundry.  Thankfully I have done most of what was on my list for this week so I can actually relax this weekend.  Which of course is a rare occurrence.

If you haven’t noticed I love to write and share my experiences, because if I can help someone along the way with my quirkiness and obsessiveness, then I feel good.  Well, that is all for now, my kiddos are calling….

The Chronicles continue…

The kids are out for the summer and you have exhausted all your plans for a fun summer vacation….wow, I hear that every summer!  Imagine having your children home all day…

That’s what I have, and I have heard that saying on many, many occasions.  Well, I decided that this time I would be prepared.  Having children that are home all the time can be stressful and keeping them entertained is not an easy job.  We have come up with some interesting ideas, but they still complained.   Because I usually hear this saying far too many times every couple of months, I spoke to my friends at Menu Planning Central , and they gave me some wonderful suggestions.

If you children are bored and you have run out of ideas or you need some suggestions for meals to free up some of your time and keep your children entertained check out these ideas.  You will also find some wonderful exercises for you to relieve your stress.

Believe me, I totally understand the craziness that may be happening now.  The summer is coming to a close and you have run out of ideas, let my friends help you.
The Chronicles continue…..

Well the time is almost here to begin home schooling for the new year.  This past school year was wonderful and so much so that I actually gave my children a break for the summer.  We usually school through the summer, but decided to give them a break which in turn gave me a bit of a break too.

But, of course instead of relaxing and basking in the sun, I occupied my time with blogging, network marketing, developing my freelance writing business and so much more.  I loved the time I had available to develop all my latest projects but the time has come to organize.  Looking at my calendar, I realized that I have only several weeks left to develop our school plan for this coming year.  I also must develop a time for me to continue writing and building the projects I have started to date.

I have decided to not only write out a schedule for the children but one for myself as well.  I have to determine the time to school, and the time to write and work on my projects, as well as work in our office and manage the household.  Sounds like fun, right?  Well, I will let you know if I can manage all of it.

So, far I developed a chore schedule for the children which of course they are not to happy with, but it will make it easier for me to keep up with all the other duties on hand.

I also developed a time schedule for myself that will go into place when I begin home schooling for the year.  I have limited my time on the computer to certain hours of the day.  I will determine if that will work for me in a week’s time and will adjust as needed.

I have also decided to close my jewelry business so, will be selling a lot of my jewelry, beads and supplies at a fraction of the cost.  This will enable me to re-arrange my studio and make it more into a library with book shelves and more writing space.  I will also use my library as a place to teach my children on a one-on-one basis, where more privacy is needed.

The time to organize is now.  This will enable me to work more efficiently and not neglect projects or activities because of lack of time.  I will keep a well written schedule with all my duties, activities, and projects to make my life easier and more enjoyable.  I look forward to a new school year filled with great activities, field trips, new supplies and new subjects to teach and learn.

The Chronicles continue….

I just heard a great newsclip on swapping for services and it reminded me of the many swaps I have done through out the years.  With today’s economy it is a great idea to swap for items you would normally pay for.

There are many online sites for swapping and some sites that offer free items like Freecycle.  I have swapped for many items.  One Christmas I was able to swap for the majority of my gifts and that was wonderful!

So how do you begin?

• Determine what craft or service you can swap for
• Post your interests in swapping online or via email to family and friends
• Have a swapping party - have guests bring items they want to swap and swap away
• Join swap groups online

I have swapped for online advertising, web design, Christmas and Birthday gifts, plumbing work, carpentry, lawn work, painting, car detailing, haircuts and haircolor, cheer privates, etc….

My husband and I love to swap, because it has saved us a lot of money and time.   Since my hubby is a Chiropractor he has swapped his services.  He is also my ‘handy man’ and has swapped his carpentry skills as well.  I have swapped my jewelry that I have designed and made, as well as baked goods, children’s clothing, articles I have written and the list goes on.

Back in the day, swapping or bartering was very common.  People swapped their home-grown produce and vegetables, farm animals, baked goods, etc.  Remember the movie, ‘Doc Hollywood’?  He swapped his services for baked goods and a pet pig.  We are taking his lead and implenting bartering/swapping in our office and home.  It is a great way to save money and share your talents and items you may no longer use that someone else will enjoy.

Have you swapped?  Share your stories in my comment area.

The Chronicles continue….